Melsithamur Jain Temples and Jain Math
Melsithamur Jain Math is located near Gingee in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. It is the primary religious center of the Tamil Jain community and is headed by Bhattaraka Laxmisena Swami. The Villupuram area has been an important centre of Jainism since ancient times. Historically, there was a Jain Math at Kanchipuram but it was shifted to its current location here. There are two temples at this place: one of them is dedicated to Parshvanatha, the other to Mallinatha, which was originally a boulder containing rock-cut images of Bahubali, Parshvanatha, Adinatha, Mahavira and Yakshi Ambika. These images were carved in the 9th century CE.